How come Ryan Futagaki didn't make the final Storm roster? He was a Hermann Trophy candidate at UCLA, played some for the Fire, and was initially playing for the Storm in the pre-preseason.
He's still around, training. It's a long season and things happen. I wouldn't be surprised to see Futo in there eventually.
Ryan Futagaki Here you go, he was signed to a 5 game contract while Chronopoulos is on the disabled list. http://www.misl.net/news/?cat=1&id=3608
I was at the Storm vs. Cleveland game last night. They said it was a little over 2000 fans there but it seemed even less than that. I hope the fan base picks up because this team plays good exciting soccer. If anyone was at the game last night, do you know why Novi played sparingly? He played some in the first half and I didn't see him even go in in the second. It looked to me like Klopas was not pleased with his holding on to the ball too long when he should have passed. Maybe he was hurt or something. I've seen him play in the Metro League for a number of years now and even though he is an awesome player, he tends to hold on to the ball a little too long. He also seems to be little too "cutsie" in the midfield, as I've mentioned before. He likes to roll the ball, jump over it, etc. and some times gets it taken away where he could have made an easy quick pass. Does anyone have a comment about it? Carrieri is playing well as is Alavanja. I think Lazo gets the most minutes. He's playing as if he has been playing indoor for years. He makes good reads and gives quick passes that resulted in a couple of goals last night. He also seems pretty calm and steady on defense.
You're absolutely correct. Can't give up possession that easily in the midfield indoors, especially in the pros, because the transition is so quick and one pass gets the opposition in scoring position. That being said, he's still the best Klopas has. Lazo is a damn good player who is best suited in a holding/playmaking role, which ironically sometimes translates into a defensive position indoors. A good player is a good player, indoors or out, and Lazo fits the bill. BTW, did anyone read the bit in the Sun-Times about Jakovljevic purchasing a warehouse in Melrose Park and turning it into, among other things, a training center for his planned Storm youth teams (complete with pro coaches, etc...)? If this is true, it's about time somebody "gets it" regarding player development in the US. The whole rest of the world uses this model, but we apparently try to fit a square peg in a round hole with our ODP, Project 40, club team, etc....... approach. Until pro teams have a vested economic interest in player development programs, we will never produce players comensurate with our means and/or at the level of other soccer powers. Good for Viktor. I hope he succeeds. He's a good guy and was a pretty decent player in his own right (played a few games with him in the early 80's).
One thing I always noticed is that teams that developed local product and put it on the field always seem to do much better in their market in regards to attendance. I hope that the attendance at the UIC picks up this year. I would really liek to the team to do well! I am going to as many games as I can. If they could sell that place out a few times this year it would be an awesome achivement.
I actually did a rough count of the actual # of fans in the pavillion and it couldn't have been over 500. Even saying they announce tickets sold, since they only have 400 season ticket holders the announced crowd of 2000+ was just fiction.
My guess is that they probably do an announced tickets sold type of number versus actual turnstiles. Since thats the only weekenight game I would imagine thats the worst its going to be. Gone are the days where teams can just play good and people will notice. You have pley well and market the hell out of youself. In order for the Sotrm to survive I would imagine that the fan count is going to have to be better than 2-4k a game. They are gonna have to do 5-6k a game to make it work. Who knows hopefully the management knows what they are doing and will have a good run at the attendance number toward the end of the season!. Ciao
Great game tonight at the UIC Pavilion. Good crowd also. They didn't announce the attendance though. There did seemed to be a lot of Milwaukee wave fans there. Does any one who was at the game know why the Storm player got a red card at half time? Who was it and what happened?
As the 3rd quarter was ending, a Wave player (I didn't see who) threw an elbow at Leo Perna and got him in the head. The Wave player should have been red carded but the ref saw it and - astoundingly - ignored it. Leo played out the last few seconds of the half and then went ballistic on the ref who threw the red card at him for abusive language. Now, granted that no matter what happens in that circumstance you're not going to get the call (I mean, the ref saw it and didn't do anything) and escalating the situation will only hurt your team, but... Leo had every right to be upset. He just should have left the abusive language to the fans. Verbally abusing the refs is our job, not the players'. The sad thing is that it really was a dangerous play and the Wave player should be the one getting the fine and suspension that Leo will now get. You don't have to be Jackie Chan to do some serious damage with an elbow to the head and a play like that should be dealt with harshly. While MISL is busy beating the crap out of Leo for his tantrum, they should also deal harshly with the ref who saw it happen but did nothing because the more that type of crap is ignored, the more bold the thugs will get and then the league is stuck acting only after someone gets seriously injured.
Maybe the same referee who saw the elbow to Leo Pernia was the same one who thought the goal in the second quarter for Chicago actually went in the net. He needed to get his eyes checked! I thought in order to score a goal the ball had to actually go past the line and in the net - apparently not.
OK, let us for the sake of comparison say that you are right. Let's say the ref got the goal call wrong and then not only failed to correctly send off the Wave player who elbowed Pernia but caused Leo to go nuts and thus cost the Storm a player and the subsequent loss of compsure that led to least two Wave goals. So, if we magically make that ref disappear, then the Wave lose 7-5 instead of 8-7. I'd make that change. Then again, I'm a Storm fan after all.
The Wave player was Michael King who is just as dirty of a player as he was about 8 years ago(which was the last time I saw him). King although is not as big of a cheapshot artist as Mr. Dusosky is. I love beating these crybabies from Milwaukee. Go Storm!!!!!
Different referees The referee who determined that Awadalla Morad's shot was a goal at 8:17 of the 2nd quarter was Ted Grigoriou, the senior referee. The referee who observed Michael King's elbow to the head of Leo Pernia, but elected to not penalize it, was Abiodun Okulaja. Mr. A. Okulaja is dark-complected. I surmise that a part of L. Pernia's redress of grievances involved an anthropological reference. I will go deeper into this over on the Wave v. Fire [sic] thread.
[R] STORM v. WAVE No, it is going to be here. I took too long editing the above reply. Maybe I will be able to delete it later. Here's the complete reply. The referee who determined that Awadalla Morad's shot was a goal at 8:17 of the 2nd quarter was Ted Grigoriou, the senior referee. The referee who observed Michael King's elbow to the head of Leo Pernia, but elected to not penalize it, was Abiodun Okulaja. Mr. A. Okulaja is dark-complected. I surmise that a part of L. Pernia's petition for redress of grievances included an anthropological reference. The videotape of this match is going to have an extended run at League officiating headquarters. These two above incidents are the most egregious. M. King has been getting away with junk like this for a long, long time. I recall game #4 of the 2000 N.P.S.L. Finals in Cleveland, OH. (29 April): CRUNCH up 2 games to 1, seeking to win the Championship that night. With the WAVE having a 1-point lead in the game in the third quarter, the ball wound up on M. King's foot on the right wing center, with his back to the goal. He pivoted 180° counterclockwise, and clocked his marker (Tommy Tanner?) in the chin with his left elbow. T. Tanner went down. Otto Orf II came out of the net to the edge of the box to close down the angle; but M. King found an open WAVE player (Todd Dusosky?) just off the right goal post. Bang. Three-point WAVE lead. No foul or penalty on M. King. And these were the best referees in the League. M. King has been playing indoor soccer since before many of you knew it existed. He is going to get these calls. I hope the League notes this and imposes a fine and a suspension. But it probably won't be enforced until after the WAVE's contingent returns from Chinese Taipei. A key aspect of this game is this: The STORM absolutely lost their composure after the end of the third quarter. When something like this occurs, the team's head coach has to be the "pillar of strength". When this incident in 2000 took place, the CRUNCH's Bruce Miller did not go ballistic. Hector Marinaro & Zoran Karic were not running about yelling, and flailing their arms. And it wasn't annotated at the post-game news conference. Last season: In game #1 of the Finals in Milwaukee; late in the 4th quarter; with the game solidly in the BLAST's "W" column, Lovelace Ackah was caught stealthily throwing an elbow at Carlos "Chile" Farias as both headed to their benches on a line change. L. Ackah was red-carded. At this game's post-game conference, the WAVE head coach politely uttered, "My guy said he didn't throw it. I hope, when they look at the videotape of it, the suspension will be rescinded." The suspension was not rescinded. L. Ackah missed the next game, which was also won by the BLAST, setting them up to sweep the series. Frank Klopas has to identify that fine line between passion and overzealousness. He boiled over, and the other players on the team simmered in his overflow. What should have been spoken at the between-quarters time-out was, "We have a five goal lead. Leo's gone, but I know you guys can fill his spot for fifteen minutes. Let's keep playing the ball around, staying compact, win the game, and I'll deal with the off-field junk afterward." In the 4th quarter, the STORM played like a derailed train which somehow managed to remain upright. The track was straight, and they were thrashing every crosstie on the roadbed, but they did not topple. A major reason they were able to stave off the WAVE was... the injury to Matthew Stewart. Think about it. The entire length of Grand Funk's "The Loco-Motion" was played. M. Stewart was on the turf that long. This took just enough of the wind out of the WAVE's momentum. They finally got another pulse after the STORM killed off the Sandré Naumoski penalty, scoring goals #6 & #7 sixty-two seconds apart, but they couldn't get the tying goal. It is very rare that one can scribe a team stole a game when they had a five-goal lead. But this was such. The STORM really did not miss Andy Guastaferro. The equivalent could not be truthfully scrawled for the WAVE. Their missing players could have made a difference. Properly commended was the play of A. Morad. There was a rumor floating about that after the WAVE's loss to the STORM in overtime in Milwaukee, the WAVE head coach supposedly sent a communiqué to all the other teams in the League which read, "Make me an offer for any of my defenders." I submit that the defender whose poor play was the crux of this alleged statement was Lovelace Ackah. And L. Ackah had another bad match in this game. The eventual game-winning-goal for the STORM {as it turned out} was when he attempted a long header back to Nick Vorberg from further out of the right wing corner kick spot, which was pounced upon by Jorgé Vallé, and re-headed into the net. Some last detritius: It should have been someone's job on the STORM bench to track the number of fouls on each player. Someone messed up in putting Tijani Ayegbusi on the floor in the final hundred seconds of the 2nd quarter when he had three fouls. He got a chippy fourth foul. The WAVE got a man-advantage. They scored on it. I think this was rectified at halftime. Byron Alvarez did not play much, if at all, after he picked up his third foul in the 4th quarter.
Re: [R] STORM v. WAVE Everything that you said was completely true, except one thing about Leo Pernia. He did not use vulgar language until AFTER the card was shown to him. He simply went up to the ref. and said..."ref, did you not see him throw and elbow and hit me in my head? are you blind?" After that, the card was shown, and Leo went crazy!!! I also agree with you when you said that the composure of the game was lost. After Leo got kicked off, the team was lost. The fourth quarter came to an end with the storm winning it 8-7. As far as Awadalla Morad's goal... I was at the game (along with every game) and I sat right next to the goal, in front of the glass by the corner biting my nails throughout the whole 4th quarter. There are steps that come about an inch and a half away from the post, where the ball first hit. If you look at the tapes and were sitting where i was sitting, wave fan or storm fan, you would shake the refs hand for calling that a goal. It was a great call!!! His eyes were where they were supposed to be, watching very closely... Later in the locker room, i spoke with Leo to see what happened. Because, I was just as confused as anyone else to see all of that drama in the middle of the field at the end of the third quarter. His left ear was beat RED, and swollen amoung other things. All he could do, and all out team will have to do is send the tape in to the MISL and show them that the storm cannot play against the wave... and the refs everygame! As far as the games after that come... They lost to St. Louis, in St. Louis 8-7 that sunday. They lost to Monterry 6-3 at the pavillion this friday (terrible game on the storm's part) they must have hit the post/crossbar 62 times... And they shutout the Wave for 3 PERIODS this saturday, but ended up losing the game with roughly 46 seconds left to play. This was by far the best game of their season thus far. Carierri and Valle could not do much up top, the goals came from midis and a defender. Novi, Lazo, Decu, Awad, Sandre and Waltman played very well. Man of the Match... Lazo Alavanja. The Storm was leading 2-0 with 3:21 into the fourth quarter, when Ackah blasted one passed Waltman to make the game 2-1. Awadalla Morad came back and took most of the wave on, and placed on nicely passed Green for a 3-1 lead. After that... everything went downhill. The game was tied! Lazo had his last chance when he took on 2 guys from the left side, had the goalie down, and instead of a little toe poke passed green, he passed into space. But... HE CANNOT TAKE THE BLAME FOR THAT!!! He's a defender!!! There were no forwards far post, nor midis making the run! He was still the man of the match for me. After that, the wave answered with Howes tapping one in with 46 seconds left on the clock, and that was that! That's why he is who he is, thats why the wave is such a good side, and a great rivalry with the storm! They are just so consistent at what they do! The Wave stands first in the central division with a record of 7-2 and the Storm goes down to third place, with a record of 5-5. The next game is 12-11-04 against the Blast at 7:00 pm, at the Pavillion. This is going to be a great game and I hope to see you all there. Ill be running around the whole stadium... I can never sit when my team plays. -----------------------SPREAD THE WORD!!!!-----------------------------
Re: [R] STORM v. WAVE I am here in Dayton and do not get to see any games for MISL at all. Do you know where I can see some game pics for the Storm?
Does anyone who was at the Storm/Blast game Saturday why Lazo Alavanja didn't play the second half? Was he injured? I saw him standing outside the field next to the gate they go into the locker room in street clothes during the second half.
yes he was a lil injured... but laz is a bull and he'll be ready to play against the kixx tomorrow. come one... did we need him? we beat the blast 10-6
I'm sure you all know this already, but in case you haven't heard there is an event going on at SmallBar in Wicker Park tomorrow from 6:30-10:00 featuring a Q&A session with Storm Asst GM Nick DiBenedetto and Fire GM Peter Wilt. There will be Storm player appearances including Lazo Alavanja, Danny Waltman, and Andy Gustaferro. There will be plenty of Storm gear for auction and raffle including a team-signed Storm jersey. More info at http://www.section8chicago.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=338
Sucks to hear that San Diego and Monterrey are folding. I hope this league isn't going under, I thought indoor soccer had a good niche.
OK, it's official. We're the suckiest bunch of sucks who ever sucked. At this point, the question is not "What happened to the team who started the season so well?" but rather "How did we ever manage to win a game back then? Were the other teams sleeping on their feet?". Because Storm fans couldn't see most of the games lately, I have no idea what has gone so catastrophically awry. My best guess is that AirAide has some hallucinogenic side effect that only begins to manifest itself during the third quarter. Either that or our players just aren't very good. Anyone have a better guess?
As a Wave fan, I love to see Chicago lose. But to say that you suck is just not true. The New Years game was incredible, and I think your loss then had more to do with conditioning than anything else. We have a team of guys who are experienced indoor players and maybe a little more up to the fast pace over a whole game...and I think that really showed in the final quarter and in OT. There is a lot of season left.
I disagree. Having gone to the match yesterday, my thought is that the team has a lot of work to do. Hopefully, this being the first season, the team will improve in both this and in future seasons.